Harmonium
Film Movement | Release Date: June 16, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisJun 21, 2017
In the riveting, masterfully executed Harmonium, bad karma pays a visit to a family — and overstays its welcome. It’s a bleak film, no doubt, yet it remains engrossing throughout with its genuinely surprising twists and outstanding acting. Read full review
90
Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonJun 15, 2017
Just as in the best old-school, Cain-style noir, Fukada’s film is eloquent about the fragile privileges of modern urban life and the hidden lies it can be built upon. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJun 15, 2017
This chilly tale of violent secrets and unvoiced misery relies heavily on the skill of actors who seem to know that one false move could tip the whole enterprise into comedy. Read full review
90
VarietyMaggie LeeJun 13, 2017
Shot in a meticulous yet unmannered style, the film provides the veteran cast with an ideal framework to mount masterful performances. Read full review
90
Screen DailySarah WardJun 13, 2017
The film’s insights into the isolation evident in the relationships most take for granted — marriages, parent-child connections and long-term friendships — don’t merely hit their targets; they smash them with a sledgehammer. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 13, 2017
Throughout Harmonium, writer-director Kôji Fukada works in a rapt and lucid hyper-textural style that suggests a merging of the sensibilities of Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujirô Ozu. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jun 14, 2017
The actors navigate their uncertain motivations with finesse — especially Asano, who captures not just the shell-shocked daze of someone trying to readjust to life on the outside but also a carefully, unnervingly suppressed wellspring of resentment. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangJun 13, 2017
Harmonium builds to something peculiar and unusual by its close, and has a melancholic, discordant, uneasy sustain that lingers long after. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJul 6, 2017
Fukada’s take on family is genuinely bleak — what he sees is loneliness together instead of real companionship, and all the problems that arise from manufactured togetherness. But his storytelling instincts are solid, and his actors always bring humanity to their darkest impulses and saddest epiphanies. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonJun 13, 2017
This is a provocative, intelligent movie for those with a strong emotional constitution. Read full review
80
Total FilmTim ColemanJun 13, 2017
Fukada contrasts understated realism with haunting, dreamlike images. Unsettling and morally complex. Read full review
80
CineVueChris MachellJun 13, 2017
Harmonium remains a deeply affecting narrative of guilt, consequence and failed redemption. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeslie FelperinJun 13, 2017
Although the story unfolds at a steady pace over two hours, the filmmaking is sufficiently elegant and metronomically efficient as to make every minute gripping, especially after the tragic twist halfway through the story. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungJun 13, 2017
It’s hard not to leave the film shaken. Read full review
75
The Film StageRyan SwenJun 19, 2017
There are many components that make Harmonium unexpectedly engrossing, but chief among them is its sense of space. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsJun 16, 2017
Harmonium is consistently about mood more than anything else. You sink into the film at first. Then, with each new leisurely introduced plot point, you struggle to regain your sense of calm since, after a while, the film's protagonists are doing the exact same thing. Read full review
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